Mechanism for segregating and arranging cops and the like, in an orderly manner



Feb. 17, 1959 w scHwElTER 2,873,

MECHANISM FOR SECREGATING AND ARRANGING COPS AND THE LIKE, IN AN ORDERLY MANNER Original Filed May 24, 1947 FIG] INVENTOR ATTORNEY Amati W3:

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UI iICd Sta e Pmfl Q MECHANISM FOR SEGREGATINGAND ARRANG- ING COPS AND THE LIKE, IN AN ORDERLY MANNER Walter Schweiter, Hot-gen, Switzerland, assignor. to Maschinenfabrik Schweiter A. G., Horgen, Switzerland,

' acorporation (lriginal application May 24, 1947, Serial No. 750,211. Divided and this application February 12, 1953, Serial No.- 336,615

Claims priority, application Switzerland June5, 1946 Claim. (Cl. 221-171) This invention relates to an apparatus for segregating cops, quills, spindles, bobbins and analogous'circular rolling bodies, namely such as are of larger diameter at one end than the other (all of which are referred to herein as cops), one by one from a mass or a bin into which the copsare dumped or thrown, perhaps pell' mell, say by the workmen.

The invention is particularly well adapted for supply iug cops to those machines for Winding thread or yarn which automatically discharge their filled cops and substitute empty cops in their places. Such an application of the invention is shown and described in my copending application, Serial No. 750,271, for Cop Supplying Mechanisms, filed May 24, 1947, now Patent No. 2,629,483, of which this present application is a division. The invention isnotwholly limited to-such uses however as Will'become-apparent;

Speaking generally, it isone ottheprimary objects of the invention to provide means ensuring that cops of the aforesaid typeare first taken one by one from the mass of cops in the binand delivered to a point from which they canfall by gravity, usually down an -in clined surface, with the result that one by one the cops become arranged in like manners endwise and in an orderly fashion.

In the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred form of the invention: Fig. l is an elevation partly in section of an apparatus embodying the invention, a bin and cop sorting and arranging apparatus being illustrated, an elevator to take away the arranged cops being also shown. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, and Fig. 3 a top plan view, of the same mechanism. Fig. 4 is a section of a detail of the sorting mechanism. Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary top plan views which serve to illustrate steps in the operation of the apparatus. Fig. 7 is the elevation, partly in section, of a detail. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of another detail.

In this device illustrated, a frame 1 supports the bin, in the form of a separating or supply drum 2, into which empty cops are deposited by the mill hands. The drum is revolvable on an upright post 3 which is rigidly mounted on the frame 1. The inner face of the drum wall 4 is provided with several slats 5 (eight, for example are shown) which are slightly backwardly inclined from the vertical. A horizontal shaft 6 is rotatably journaled in frame 1 and is driven continuously by, say, a pulley or sprocket 7. A worm, or thread gear, 9, on shaft 6 and turning with it, meshes with a gear wheel 10, rigidly mounted on drum 2, and thereby rotates drum 2 continuously.

On an arm 11 of frame 1 is fixed an elevator (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) having a housing 12 in the lower end of which is mounted a roller 14; this roller carries the lower end of the elevator belt 15; the upper end of this belt can be assumed to be supported in some appropriate The roller 14 is fixed on shaft 6 and drives Patented Feb.. 17, 1959 said belt 15 which is provided with projectinglifting blocks 16. The housing 12' has at its lower end a funnelshaped inlet 17 into which leads,.as shown, a downwardly inclined surface, forming a chute, 18 placed between side walls'19 and 20 and which forms a rolling, path for the cops. as later described. The .present invention-is'well adapted" to supply cops ,to such elevators, but it can be used, to supply cops to other forms and types of devicesalso as will'be apparent.

On the. upright post 3 is rigidly (non-rotatably) mounted a tubular member 21 from which extends, at its bottom end, a substantially radial beam 22, preferably curvedin the direction'of'rotation of the drum 2 (Fig. 3), andat its top end a radial'arm 23 connectedto the inclined chute or plane 18-1 Beam 22 extends gradually into a guide rail 24i-Which rises gradually and is disposed close tothepath offlthe slats 5; and which at its toppasses intothe-inclinedchute or-plane '18. The guide rail 24 is inclined toward drum wall 4' to form with the-drum wall-4a V-shaped channel'whereby cops passing up theguide rail 24 tend to restin the path of the slats 5'(Figs. 4 and5).

A vertical plate orbar 26 about at the upper end of the guiderail'24'and abovethe chute 18 about where the latter beings to inclinedownwardly, together with its supporting arm 27, is pivoted in, say, a bracket 28 fixed laterally to some convenient support, say'to housing 12, soas tobe movable to and'fr'om the plane; Also on some'convenie'nt' support, such as the-arm 11, a pin 29 pivotally mounts-a lever 30" fitted with a cam roller 31" engaging a cam -disk'32 'fixed-onshaft-6 (see Figs. 1, 2, 5" and 8'). This lever'30- is provided with rod 33 which is; articulated at- 34 at its top end to the arm 27 which carries the plate or bar 26. The-purpose of this mechanism is 'to-retaineach cop at the top of the incline 18 until his entirely or substantially'free of the side wall 4 of] the bin or; drum, and only; then, by rising, permit thecop to roll down-theincline 18- (see Figs. 5 and 6). There may also be provided a plate 25, e. g. hinged at 27g, to sweep surplus cops from the guide rail 24 so that only one arrives at the incline 18 at a time (Figs. 3 and 5). This plate may be carried across the guide rail 24 (cf. Fig. 3 or 6 with Fig. 5) from the top radial arm 23 (see Fig. 7), say by a bell-crank lever 25a pivotally supported on the bracket 25 mounted on the top radial arm 23 and connected by a rod 25b to a lever 25c having a cam follower roller engaging the edge of a cam 25d on shaft 6, so that the plate 25 sweeps over the guide rail 24, say just in advance of each slat 5 (Fig. 5), to sweep surplus cops back into the bin.

This mechanism operates in the following manner: Rotation of shaft 6, driven through sprocket 7, causes the sorting or separating drum 2 to revolve. Empty cops 35 in this bin or drum 2 thereby accumulate on the stationary beam 22 and the lower part of guide rail 24 against the wall 4 of the drum. A cop that may lie flat against the wall 4 in this region may be caught by a slat 5 of the drum wall (Fig. 3), and pushed, head end 38 first or pointed end 39 first, up the inclined rail 24 and thence toward the chute 18 in front of the gate plate 26 as indicated at location 37 in Figs. 5 and 6. At this point the slats 5 leave the cops by passing around under the upper end of inclined chute 18 or guide rail 24. If two cops become tangled and move up the rail together, one may be pushed off the track 24 by the plate 25 as before described (Fig. 5). The cops are thus picked out of the bin one by one, but at somewhat varying intervals usually.

A cop reaches the top of the chute 18 either head 38 first or point 39 first (Figs. 5 and 6), and there is held by plate 26 until it is entirely on that surface. Cam disk 32 (Fig. 8) is so placed on shaft 6 that the plate 26 is then lifted. This permits the cop to roll down the inclined 18 with its head 38 foremostdue to the fact that the'cir-' cumference of the head end 38 is greater than the circumference of its pointed end 39 Each and every cop thereforereaches the bottom of the incline 18 in one and the same position, namely with its pointed end 39 pointing upwardly, and in this position is ready for delivery. For example, when an elevator like that shown in the drawing is used to take the segregated and arranged cops away, each cop arriving at the bottom of the chute 18 may pass immediately and directly into the inlet 17 of the elevator where one of the blocks 16. on the elevator belt catches the cop and carries it upwardly, head downward (Fig. 1).

It can thus be seen that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a mechanism for supplying cops and likerotatable objects from a revolving drum in orderly fashion to collector means, which mech- Y of said first guide means to be released by said gate means anism is characterized by drive means for imparting rotation to said drum, said drum having an inner wall provided with slats, said slats being arranged in spaced apart relation to each other on said innerdrum wall, radially extending stationary means located in said drum and directed toward said inner drum wall, first guide means gradually rising from said stationary means along an inclined path conformed to said inner wall, but spaced from said slats, to thereby provide a V-shaped channel between said guide means and said inner Wall, whereby said cops upon rotation of said drum are directed from said sta tionary means onto said inclined first guide means and through said slats along said channel toward the top end of said first guide means, second guide means extending into said drum from said top end ofsaid first guide means,

chute means extending downwardly and exteriorly of said drum from saidtop end of saidfirst guide means toward said collector means, gate means located between said first guide and said chute means, sweeper means. located adjacent said gate means, respective means operatively connected to said drive means to deviate predetermined cops toward said second guide means and to actuate said gate means in timed relation to the movement of said slats to thereby permit the foremost cop arrived at said top end ""for discharge into said chute'means.

I claim:

A mechanism for supplying cops from a rotatable drum in orderly fashion to collector means; comprising a drum, drive means for imparting rotation to said drum, said drumhaving an inner wall provided with slats, said slats being arranged in spaced apart relation to each other on said inner wall, a curved radially extending stationary beam located in said drum and directed toward said inner drum wall, an inclined guide rail gradually rising from said stationary beam along an inclined path conformed to said inner wall spaced from said slats forming a V-shaped channel between said guide rail and said inner wall, so that upon rotation of said drum cops are directed from said stationary beam onto said guide rail and by action of said slats along said channel toward the top end of said guide rail, a chute extending downwardly and exteriorly of said drum from said top end of said guide rail toward said collector means, a gate located between said guide rail and said chute, a plate located adjacent said gate sweeping said guide rail, a cam mechanism opera- 7 tively connecting said drive means to said gate, said plate deviating predetermined cops ofi said guide rail into said drum, said gate being raised in timed relation to the rotation of said drum and movement of said slats bysaid cam mechanism to thereby permit the foremost cop arrived at said top end of said guide rail to pass under said gate for discharge into said chute.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 7,548 Bevelander Mar. 6, 

